ST Wins Top Accolades at Regional Awards for Journalistic Excellence

Taylor Swift infographics, opinion piece on Malaysia politics are first in their categories

- Joyce Lee

Ahead of American superstar Taylor Swift's concerts in Singapore held in March 2024, The Straits Times released nine full-page infographics.

The series of infographic posters, which ran from Feb 17 to 25, 2024, each portrayed one of nine studio albums or "eras" in the celebrity's career, combining to form a giant collectible image of Swift.

This project won ST an accolade for regional excellence in infographics at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards held on June 26.

The awards given by the Hong Kong-based organisation honour journalistic excellence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Judges said of the project: "This brave decision is a sign of the newspaper's closeness to its audience and also reveals a collaborative effort between journalism, design, production and promotion, resulting in a piece of data-driven journalistic design, a piece of trivia that is highly valuable and appreciated by Taylor Swift fans."

ST Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh, 44, took home the regional award for excellence in the opinion writing category for his commentary on the state of Malaysia's political succession.

The judges said that Mr Teoh's piece was "an expansive prose that delves into Malaysia's national discourse".

"It demystifies the complex web of personalities shaping Malaysian politics, revealing how personal ambitions and alliances drive the country's political dynamics."